FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGREES TO TEST AIRLINES’ PRIVATE CONTACT TRACING APP
July 24, 2020
On June 9, 2020, The Trump administration convened a high-level White House meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, and other senior airline officials to discuss the collection of contact tracing information from U.S.-bound international passengers, with the goal. As readers may recall CDC in February 2020 issued an interim final rule that required airlines to collect five contact data elements from international passengers and electronically submit them to CBP. However, many airlines believed this information was difficult to obtain, especially for passengers booking tickets through third-party websites, and resulted in information that is spotty and incomplete. As a potential solution, U.S. carriers recommended utilizing a website and mobile application for passengers to send their contact information directly to the CDC. Following a meeting between Vice President Pence and airline executives on June 26, 2020, the administration agreed to test a contact tracing app the airline industry has paid to have developed, and to allow international passengers to notify the CDC when they may have come into contact with someone who has COVID-19.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6622); Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6665), or Andy Orr (aorr@eckertsemans.com or 202-659-6625).
Share This Post
Authors
